Head Hawk: 10 items with Kirk Ferentz in his presser previewing Iowa State

Their team looked good on Saturday. They had an impressive win over a Northern Iowa team that we have a lot of respect for as well. They have a lot of new players, but some things didn’t change. They look very well coached. They play extremely hard. They’re very sound, no turnovers. They’re plus two on the turnover rate, made some big plays that gave them a lot of juice out there and helped lead them to their victory.

They are an impressive football team. Two new quarterbacks, they both played well. They have multiple receivers that are good football players. Looks like four or five backs that are really capable. A lot of tight ends, like four or five, that contributed and did a good job. Veteran up front, very strong up front. Defensively they’ve been really good and stopped one of the top teams in their conference. Basically since ’18 they’ve been playing good on defense.

They have a new kicker, had an impressive field goal. Punter did a great job, two big punt returns on top of it. They’re doing a great job on special teams as well.

All that being said, we just have a lot of respect for them. It’s like every year, we’ll have to play at our best to have a chance to come out ahead on this thing.

That’s one thing about intrastate—I guess that’s the correct grammar—intrastate rivals. You don’t want to lose, just like in high school, that team next door, you don’t want to lose to those guys. Bear Bryant used to say it. You talk about guys going home, go to the pharmacy, and they’ve got to answer why they lost to Auburn, and Alabama would have to answer that.

I think that’s just part of sports, but it makes it fun. It’s part of the fun of sports too, having those kinds of rivalries.

The challenge is they make it really tough to run, and they’ve done a great job of that. It’s kind of ironic, you think of the front, I think people refer to it as the three-three stack. You think of that being like a pass to spread offensive front, but they do a great job of getting three guys to the ball.

The one thing about them, which I can say this, the last five years they’ve really tackled well at all positions, and you can’t say that about every football team. In fact, there’s some you can’t say that about at all. They’ve done a great job of that. They’re great at getting guys free to the ball, and then they don’t miss tackles.

It’s kind of like I’ve been saying. We’re a more mature group now. We’re a little bit more experienced and more capable. It’s pretty much the same guys, throwing Rusty Feth on top of it, but same guys that have been here. They’ve been able to practice a little bit. They’re a little older and stronger. We’re a more physically mature team at that position especially.

I think that’s a big part of that. Especially line play on both lines, that’s a really big factor.

It’s just going to come because he’s earned it. It’s the whole group really. We knew it was going to be tough last year. I knew it was going to be tough for him, although as I said before, sometimes you get lulled into sleep because he does so well in practice. But it’s still different being out there in a game in front of fans and competing when there’s a shot clock going, all those things that make the game a little more stressful and trying.

I thought he did a good job last year with it, but there’s nothing like experience. Linderbaum is a better player in his last year than he was his first year starting. It would be the same thing. I’m not trying to compare the two guys, but they are wired a little bit the same and there’s some similarities between them. That’s a compliment to Logan because he operates at a high level. He’s really mature, very serious about it, and he’s got a lot of pride.

That’s very true at every position. If you have a guy with those attributes, it’s a good thing.

Yes, it’s the same discussion with Logan or the whole group. If a player is doing right, they should get better. Linderbaum will be a better player this year than he was last year, I’m sure of that.

Good players just keep getting better. Even when they get older and their skills start to deteriorate, that’s why you’ve got a brain. If you’re thinking right and thinking about how you can get better and improve, there’s so much to be said for experience if you’re doing it the right way.

Luke’s a great young guy. He’s starting to feel it. Last year he started taking off, and he’s done a great job in the out of season. We expect him to play well. If we’re going to have a chance, I say it all the time, our best guys, our most experienced guys have to play better than they did a year ago or we’re going to be in a bad place.

He has an injury, so we’re managing it all season long. That’s my guess, or at least until it heals. We’ll manage it and try to be smart about it.

He’s looking okay. He’s sore, I can tell you that. Predictably, he’s sore.

I don’t think I’m sharing too much about our playbook. I guess anybody who saw it Saturday, we probably would have done it on fourth and one and quick gone out there and snapped the ball, but yeah, it’s really not on the menu right now.

You’re benefitting from experience, but you’re not benefitting from that play for sure. We’re not going to have him bootleg and the Chuck Long play from 85, probably won’t pull that one.

That’s just good offense, in my opinion. Again, just going back to last year, we had one scholarship receiver in the first game. With all due respect to the guys we had, but there’s a difference. We have a little healthier group right now and a little bit more group that has more potential maybe to be productive.

A lot of those guys had to earn their way up. Nico’s certainly a better player than he was four years ago, so that’s a good thing. Diante has had some hardships with injuries and crazy things. To have him out there healthy is good. Then you pick up Seth and Kaleb, those are good additions. Alec Wick, I think, is a much better player than he was a year ago.

Now you have some guys out there. You have a couple of tight ends that are capable of playing well. Think we’ve got a line, and we have good backs. So it’s just a matter of piecing things together. Hopefully it all complements each other, and then whatever they choose to take away, hopefully we can find some success in those other areas.

When he first showed up, I wasn’t quite sure what we were going to do with him, as I said before, a high school quarterback. Once you saw him on the field, you just knew he had a motor. He’s really a high charging guy. I don’t know if I would have predicted his career would have been this successful, but it’s a real tribute to him.

He’s worked extremely hard, but he’s totally invested. He’s a great leader for our guys. Probably would have been a captain last year except you have guys like Campbell, we had such a good group of guys last year at the senior end. So appreciative he’s back for his sixth year. He’s a good football player, but just adds a real dimension to our football team, which is healthy.